Media Release: New Zealand sea lion slides towards extinction
In a submission to the Ministry of Fisheries, the Environmental Defence Society (EDS) has called on the government to
reconsider proposals for the Auckland Islands squid fishery.
"The Ministry of Fisheries' proposal for the 2011/12 fishing year is deeply flawed, radically different from past years
and will hasten the New Zealand sea lion towards extinction," said EDS Senior Oceans Researcher Kate Mulcahy.
"Whereas previously the fishery would be closed if a specified level of sea lion bycatch was exceeded, this year the
proposal is to keep it open.
"The New Zealand sea lion is an endemic species, found principally in the Auckland Islands. The population has been
declining for a number of years, and in 2010 the Department of Conservation reclassified the species as 'nationally
critical', the most endangered category available in the classification system. Research shows that squid fishing is
probably a key cause of the population decline.
"The squid fishing season coincides with the pupping season in the Auckland Islands. Sea lions caught in the squid trawl
nets tend to be females out hunting to feed their pup, which remains onshore. These females are often pregnant as well,
so the death of a female actually results in the death of three individuals.
"The Ministry's proposals are based on new research which, it claims, shows that the squid fishery is in fact not a
significant cause of the decline in the population because sea lion exclusion devices (SLEDs) enable sea lions caught in
the trawl net to escape.
"In fact, we do not know how many sea lions die in squid trawl nets. Although SLEDs provide an escape route, we have no
idea what condition the sea lions are in when they pass through the SLED because the research hasn't been done.
"So the Ministry's rationale for the proposal is flawed. It addresses only one way in which sea lions may be killed in
the trawl nets and ignores other research showing that the squid fishery is very likely a significant factor in the
population decline.
"Rather than scrapping the bycatch limit, the government needs to strengthen it further and do more to protect this
unique species from extinction. This should include a population management plan developed by the Department of
Conservation," Kate Mulcahy concluded.